Terminologies you should know

物件種別 (bukken shubetsu)・Property type

• マンション(manshon)・Mansion:
  • constructed using steel-reinforced concrete (SRC), reinforced concrete (RC), or steel frame
  • Thick wall, no sound leaking to neighboring units
• アパート(apa-to)・Apartment:
  • multi-unit residential buildings that are constructed of wood or light-gauge steel
  • japanese apartments have thinner walls (poorer insulation). Noise may carry to neighboring units (road noise may also be noticeable)
• 一戸建て(ikkodate)・Single-family home: detached houses (common type of family home)

賃料 (Chinryō)・Rent

• 家賃(Yachin): House rent
• 共益費(Kyōeki-hi) : Common service fee
• 管理費(Kanrihi) : Management fee

礼金(Reikin)・Key money

• Key money is money given to the landlord who rented the room with a feeling of gratitude
• A custom - money with gratitude to the landlord (was born in an era when housing was scarce)
• Offered as a thank-you gift. Once you pay, you won’t come back

敷金(Shikikin)・Security deposit

• A security deposit is money like a security deposit that you deposit as collateral in exchange for renting a room
• It will be used for rent delinquency and expenses required for restoration, but other money will be returned when you move out

専有面積(Sen’yū menseki)・Occupied area

• The occupied area refers to the space that can be used only by the residents of the dwelling unit
• Bedroom and kitchen, equipment such as closets and shoe racks are counted
• Does not include areas such as balconies and entrance porch
• Measured in Square meter (m2) or 平米(Heibei) :

間取り(Madori)・Floor plan

• Floor plans are written using numbers and alphabets
• The number indicates the number of bedrooms and the letters show the which other areas the property comprises.
• 和 : 和室(Washitsu) - Japanese style Tatami floor
• 洋 : 洋室(Yōshitsu) - Western style Wooden or carpeted floor
• 畳 (Tatami) : A tatami is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms
• 帖(Jō) : Refers to one tatami mat. 1帖 ＝ 1.65㎡ （approx.）
• ベランダ (Beranda) : Veranda
• バルコニー (Barukonī) : Balcony
• ロフト (Rofuto): Loft
  • Loft is a room on the top floor or attic of a building
  • It is directly under the roof (not under the ceiling) and is used for warehouses
• テラス (Terasu) : Terrace
  • A terrace is an external, raised, open, flat area in either a landscape (such as a park or garden) near a building, or as a roof terrace on a flat roof
  • A property with テラス is called テラスハウス (Terasuhausu)

駅徒歩・Station walk

• Distance of the property by walk
• Does it require to take bus to go to nearby station

築年数・Building Age

• The building was constructed within ‘x’ years
• Seismic standard (Earthquake-resistance standard) is followed by buildings but:
  • Buildings constructed before 1985 are following old standard
  • Buildings constructed after 1985 are following new standard
  • See: Important notes about 耐震基準 (Seismic standard)

Other filters while searching (条件)

• キッチン・Kitchen: 2 or more stoves, IH heater etc.
• バス・トイレ・Bath and toilet: bath and toilet are separated, Independent washroom
• セキュリティ・Security: Auto lock. Security camera etc.
• 位置・Position: 2nd floor and above, top floor, corner room, facing south, etc.
• その他・Others: There are many more filters you can use

Difficulties for foreigners to find property

• There are many property owner that would not rent to foreigners
• Some properties require japanese Guarantor (most probably you can not manage Japanese guarantor)
• Sometimes insuarance company or management company reject your application

The agents will try hard for you (because they will get paid if you sign contract), but there will be some known and unknown issues and because of that you would not be able to sign contract for the property you like.

For foreigners, UR賃貸住宅 is better. See: life-in-japan/UR賃貸住宅

Seismic standard

• 耐震基準 (taishin kijun) : Seismic standard
• 耐震構造 (taishin kōzō): earthquake-resistant construction (Seismic structure)
• Important notes:
  • New standard was introduced in 1985 (before 1985, old standard was being followed)
  • Buildings constructed before 1985 are following old standard
  • Buildings constructed after 1985 are following new standard
  • So, you should check in which year building was constructed
  • Prefer buildings that are constructed after 1985 (following new standard)

Online portals for finding rental properties

• Most popular: HOME’S - https://www.homes.co.jp/chintai
• Decent: SUUMO - https://suumo.jp/chintai
• Popular to state agents: at home - https://www.athome.co.jp
• Others
  • https://www.oakhouse.jp/eng/
  • http://www.ur-whitestone.com/english
  • https://wagaya-japan.com
  • https://www.chintai.net

Searching properties

Online portal

• Go to a portal site i.e. at home, home’s
• Use filter on top or sidebar
• Search
• Select property from result list
• See details and if you like, you can submit inquiry by filling up form below or by calling the number mentioned
• At below there is real estate company information (call or submit inquiry form)

Nearby real estate store

• Go to nearby real estate store i.e. ハウスコン, スマイエ
• You might need to wait after going to store or re-schedule
• They will give you a form to fillup (to know your desired criteria and budget)
• They will try to match with your criteria and check if it’s ok for foreigners

Online inquiry

It’s better for foreigners to try the followings (I did this)

• Go to online protal (i.e. home’s or ‘at home’), search and submit online inquiry by filling up form
• home’s & ‘at home’ have a comment text are where you can ask questions
• Use comment text to ask the important qustion:
  • 質問1： 外国人に「OK」ですか、「NG」ですか? (Question 1: Is it “OK” or “NG” for foreigners?)
  • ※ご参考までに、私はバングラデシュ人で、日本には５年目です (※FYI, I am a Bangladeshi and I have been in Japan for 5 years)
  • 質問２： 「共益費、または管理費」はいくらになりますか？ (Question 2: How much is the “common service fee or management fee”?)
  • Sometimes, in online protal, the monlty service fee (maintenance fee) is not mentioned, in that case you should ask the ‘qustion 2’

The advanctange of the above approach is that, once the mail thread started with agent

• You can use Google translate to understand reply from agent
• You can use Google translate to write reply to the agent
• If the agent replies: 外国人に「NG」です (“NG” for foreigners), that means owner would not rent to foreigner and you can just stop and try for other properties
• If agent replies: …ご相談可能です… (can be consulted / disscussed), then you can proceed and ask agent to schedule a date for viewing the property

内見・Property Viewing

Up to this point, assuming that everything went well and you scheduled a date for viewing the probably

• On the scheduled date, you will go to the real estate store
• Agent will bring you to property by car
• If you like the property, sign contract

Advance booking

• Sometimes agent might ask you to pay some amount of money in advance
• Don’t worry, it’s Japan, your money will not be taken away illegally (like other counties)
• The advance money is for locking the property for you, so they would not introduce it to others
• In most case, advance booking is not required

Contract and payment

Agent might ask following documents

• 収入証明書写し (Copy of income certificate). Any of the followings:
  • 源泉徴収票
  • 確定申告書
  • 採用通知
  • 給与明細臨近3月分
  • I used “給与明細臨近3月分” because it was easy to get (just downloading from my company portal)

Credit card payment

• Many real estate store will accept credit card payment
• Not possible to pay with “Installment payment”
• You have to use “リボ払い” (Revolving credit) by contacting your card provider (SMBC in my case)

Next

• life-in-japan/Utility Services (ユーティリティーサービス)
• life-in-japan/Internet connection (インターネット接続)